Why every book about Africa has the same cover

Credit: Simon Stevens/The Atlantic

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/05/why-every-book-about-africa-has-the-same-cover/362101/ / Africa Is a Country blog documents skewers Western misconceptions Africa book design 36 covers books set in Africa written by African writers text texts books as diverse geography they covered Nigeria Zimbabwe South Africa Botswana Zambia Mozambique written wildly divergent styles writers several Nobel Prize winners books cover covers featured acacia tree orange sunset veld covers novels Africa designed principal idea continent The Lion King /

How to save Google Maps offline on iOS & Android devices

Credit: Boy Genius Report

Google Maps for Android & iOS, has been updated to allow downloading of maps for later offline use. PhoneArena shows how:

http://www.phonearena.com/news/How-to-download-areas-for-offline-mode-in-the-new-Google-Maps-8_id55894 / Google Google Maps update mobile devices both iOS Android users ability save maps offline access later Internet connection PhoneArena quick guide how to save offline maps Android devices iOS users users tap profile button right corner scroll tap Offline maps mode map save regions Paris metro area up to six offline maps zoom in save Google Maps features offline mode Internet connection GPS enabled travelling different country avoid costly roaming charges OK Maps search box offline use features including satellite terrain indoor maps 3D buildings available offline directions navigation set images steps save map in Google Maps /

What's the greenest car? An extremely short guide to vehicle emissions

Credit: Shrink That Footprint/The Energy Collective

http://theenergycollective.com/lindsay-wilson/372286/what-s-greenest-car-extremely-short-guide-vehicle-emissions / green greenest vehicles car vehicle emissions vehicle emissions petrol cars mpg EV electric vehicle using electricity coal oil gas solar emissions vehicle manufacturing petrol electricity emissions well-to-wheels accounting manufacturing fuel economy gasoline gasolene petrol car emissions electric car source electricity lowest emissions electric car solar electricity solar 45 g CO2e/kWh high co-ownership solar EVs hydro nuclear wind low carbon electricity diesel petrol low carbon vehicles biofuels hydrogen fuel cell vehicle emissions check posts electric vehicle emissions driving emissions greenest vehicles. /

Plastic heals itself by mimicking the human body (video)

Credit: Ryan Gergekey/GigaOm

http://gigaom.com/2014/05/09/plastic-heals-itself-by-mimicking-the-human-body/ / University of Illinois researchers created vein-like tubes carry healing liquid damaged sites system repair damage stretch stretches more inch across LG mobile phone self-repair minor damage plastic casing novelty shallow scratch damage remained paper published Science today subscription required create plastic objects self-repair damage damaged repeatedly repair itself compromising its strength two liquids flow into holes cracks form criss-crossing lines create gel-like scaffolding third material causes structure harden object repaired study lead Scott White release forms a gel tubes run through a plastic material damage damaged ooze liquid area needs repair research team University of Illinois plastics often-damaged items car bumpers industries industry difficult to make repairs aerospace /

Zuta printer: truly portable & prints on any size paper

Computing has become mobile. As mobile as you want. Smartphone, tablet, laptop. Almost any screen size between 2.8 & 20 inches. This web page has been created, almost exclusively, on mobile devices. Currently, an 8 inch tablet.

Printers, on the other hand have been much less successful in the mobile sphere. Generally they are not actually very portable, & create restrictions on paper size. Paper size restrictions are greatest in the most portable devices.

Zuta took a different view: a printer is a print head in a box, along with the mechanics & electronics to move the print head & paper around. Why not get rid of the box & the bits to move the paper, attach the remaining mechanics & electronics directly to the print head, & print on a stationary sheet of paper?

Result: a smaller printer with the potential to print on any size of paper.

Connects via a Bluetooth interface with Android, IOS, Linux, OSX & Windows.

Zuta printer is a Kickstarter project:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1686304142/the-mini-mobile-robotic-printer

http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/10/zuta-labs-pocket-printer/

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/128397-zuta-labs-mini-mobile-robotic-printer-moves-on-paper-to-print-anything-anywhere / mobile printing printer prints smart phone smartphone any size page A4 legal mobile smartphones tablets laptops leave office fully connected work on the go device left behind mobile revolution printer working efficiently outside homes offices place to print mobile printer can be taken anywhere prints any device laptop tablet smartphone any sized page size printhead running left and right moving piece of paper printhead on a set of small wheels run across a piece of paper rechargeable battery connects directly smartphones PCs print on any size piece of paper neat silicone cover mars black printer reward titanium white activate activated slide sliding hatch bottom of the printer inkjet USB connection battery charging charge recharge device 1,000 printed pages grey scale greyscale gray scale grayscale omni-wheel system accurate accurately turn and drive any direction place the printer accurately accurate properly page guarantee an accurate outcome stabilizing sensors color colour colours colors Mars black Titanium white polycarbonate project college Jerusalem College of Technology Friedberg Entrepreneurship Program students programme sustainable business plan rigorous acceptance process capital prototype design designing production /

Google Drive Android app update to version 1.3, removing some features

It's not as bad as it may sound. Lost functionality is replaced by new Docs & Sheets apps.

Some time ago, Google bundled some of their existing apps, including Docs, into Drive. Now they're unbundling them. What gives? My take: purpose of the new modularised Drive is to avoid creating a larger RAM footprint with the new & promised Drive functionality.

New features:
● ability to work on Drive documents offline
● Powerpoint equivalent, called Slides, in the works

Android runs on a large range of hardware. Not all devices have 3GB of RAM. A Drive app composed of separate modules will have a smaller RAM footprint. It may also be an indicator of additional functionality to come.

To emulate the old Drive functionality, do the following:
● update Drive app
● install Docs app
● install Sheets app
● use Drive just as you have to date. When you attempt to create, or edit, a Docs or Sheets file, Drive will seamlessly call the appropriate Docs or Sheets app.

Having done the above, I created the text for this post using the new version of Drive. No loss of functionality that I have observed, although there is a check-spelling-as-you-type function that I hadn't noticed before.

If you prefer, delete the desktop shortcuts for Docs & Sheets. You may wish to do the same with Slides, when it appears.

A relatively minor difference from previous versions is that by default, copies of documents are now kept on the device. Not surprising, given the new offline editing capability.

http://www.talkandroid.com/205569-google-drive-android-app-update-to-version-1-3-removing-some-features/?utm_source=feedburner-ta&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AndroidNewsGoogleAndroidForums+%28TalkAndroid+-+Android+News%2C+Rumours%2C+and+Updates%29#readsoruce_bottom / Google update updating Google Drive app Android remove some functionality release separate apps documents spreadsheets edit documents users install new Docs Sheets apps documents viewed Drive app new apps installed features functions old Drive app Play Store download link powerpoint presentations presentation app work same way other apps Google Drive family /

Google Street View mod shows your town under water

Credit: World Under Water screenshot by Eric Mack/CNET

Over 97% of climate scientists accept the evidence for climate change. If, as a majority of climate change models predict, sea level rises by 2 metres this century, many of the world's major cities with be inundated.

World Under Water is a project to show how some cities would look under 2 metres of water.

http://www.cnet.com/news/google-street-view-mod-shows-the-world-under-water/ / US government climate change already happening National Climate Assessment Google Street View world's cities flooded rising sea levels marketing agencies BBDO Proximity Singapore climate change crowdfunding platform CarbonStory accurate representation city sea levels actually rise 6 feet this century many scientists predict flood New York London 6 feet of water centre center city landmarks underwater National Climate Assessment /